Axe-Fx III Firmware 25.04 Release

Sorry to feed the tangent, but if it helps anyone, I think the virtual capo and harmonizers sound best with really careful setting of the level control of the shifter as well as the block's built in high and low cuts. For down tuning, I always raise the level to compensate, play with the cuts for a natural low end and pick attack, then readjust level and cuts until it feels completely right. I set the Pitch Tracking to Fast and Tracking to 0, and for rock and metal, I detect no latency nor any artifacts for the ranges I've set the the output level and cuts for.

I've found that to sound natural I have to boost pitch block output level a little for every semitone I go downward, and those high and low cuts are essential for a natural sound.

Furthermore, these settings have to be very different on different registers of the guitar, so I think it's best to do a lot of careful testing. To do this without compensating high/low cuts and output level means it will sound less natural.

What would maybe work would be a built in tool that automatically handles this level and cut compensation automatically and dependant on the register your playing, but then maybe the strain would be too much to keep a low latency. I'm not an audio electrical engineer, so take what I say with a grain of salt.
 
In fact the only thing I haven't been able to get to sound natural with the virtual capo is with complex chords and clean / edge of breakup tones. From what I read, these just might be impossible to navigate at low latency, but Man, for rock and metal with my settings, I get it to sound completely natural.

The big test to me has always been wild and and wide vibrato. Play a high note with some gain and just hold it with wide and exaggerated vibrato into a pitch shifter, and on many of them it will cause a kind of warbling effect. I remember the Morpheus pedal had this. But on the Axe-FX III pitch block, set with Pitch Tracking to Fast and Tracking to 0, there is no warble; it's just natural. Now adjust the output level and high/low cuts in the block for the register your playing in and the amount of shift, and you can get it totally natural sounding, down to the pick attack.

Again, sorry to feed the tangent!
 
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FractalAudio said:
Yup. Real-time pitch shifting is full of tradeoffs. I you want low latency you get tremolo artifacts. If you don't want the tremolo artifacts you get high latency and weird artifacts on complex intervals.
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What I wouldn't give to pick this dudes brain for 20 minutes. Learned more from this man on how amplifiers work than anybody else. Before the AFX3, I came from simple amps in my teens...Gorilla 1×12 combo lent to me by that "cool older guy friend", (cool little thing, ended up blowing it up because I "Marty Mcflied" it with my nerd buddy at the time😂) I also remember a Park combo 1x12 the same friend lent me, and the first amp I OWNED and bought for myself was a Fender stage 112 SE 2x12, to go along with my first "Oh yes it will be mine" Wayne's world guitar, a 76 Gibson explorer reissue Black with white pick guard. Looking back now, I had absolutely no Fn clue what I was doing😂😂 That combo today seems cringe for a Thrash/blues/ metal guy like myself. But it was soo fun☺️ Believe it or not, the Fender got a decent crunch tone all it's own with no pedals...Then I tried a "D.O.D death metal" pedal ran into the clean channel...I was wowed back then. Gain to ten, no mids, bass to 6, treble to 6 (stuck to that rule for years until I grew up and met all you clever folks lol) Then it was a Line 6 spider 3 120w, for the "insane" setting(don't kill me😱) Then a spider 4, a spider V....Then I upgraded a couple of years ago. What a difference... Learned how and why boost pedals work, the difference between pre/power amp distortion and which type suits what I'm playing for that day, bias, eq/ and Q, and how not diming gain and scooping mids makes a way better tone. What a terrible and yet awesome time to be Alive. My playing has progressed more from the age of 42-44, than it did from the age of 14 to 42. All of this top shelf gear/knowledge makes you want to play every day. Damn I digress, didn't mean to go into my musical / gear history but hell yeah guys, hell yeah Cliff. Thank you.
 
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FractalAudio said:
Why would he hide the comment? Seems disingenuous.
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Maybe he didn't hide it, but it's not visible somehow. I see someone else said they left him a similar comment and link and it's not there either. I saw my comment and link on YT after I made it, so it was there for a bit, but it was gone when I returned. Perhaps YT has it blocked or it's awaiting the channel's approval. I'd like to think Zack wouldn't hide it on purpose, so I'll take him at his word that he didn't. Regardless, I think he knows about the response at this point.
 
CodePoet said:
I left Zack a comment on his video with a link to Cliff's response about Smooth pitch tracking, but he hid the comment. 🤷‍♂️
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Youtube automatically hides comments containing links, even if the channel owner allows them in youtube's settings, it will remain hidden until he approves it... and he might not even be aware of your comment yet, cuz youtube studio plainly sucks and doesn't show any notification for hidden comments
 
DLC86 said:
Youtube automatically hides comments containing links, even if the channel owner allows them in youtube's settings, it will remain hidden until he approves it... and he might not even be aware of your comment yet, cuz youtube studio plainly sucks and doesn't show any notification for hidden comments
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He replied to a different post and said he would try 'smooth' at a gig this weekend.
 
DLC86 said:
Youtube automatically hides comments containing links, even if the channel owner allows them in youtube's settings, it will remain hidden until he approves it... and he might not even be aware of your comment yet, cuz youtube studio plainly sucks and doesn't show any notification for hidden comments
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That makes sense to prevent spamming. Sounds like he'd have to go digging for those hidden comments - sounds a pain. Thanks for the explanation.
 
Yes the virtual capo isn’t perfect. But if you are too lazy to tune down just for 5 minutes … it work . until now nothings better than tune down your guitar if you really want to.

If you play alone, it suck cause you hear your strings, latency etc…

But for covers I use it sometimes and no one notice it. I have done a whole pantera album with the virtual capo, meshuggah ….

Maybe one day technology will allow us to have something quicker. That’s not difficult to tune down hm.
 
My name is mud said:
Yes the virtual capo isn’t perfect. But if you are too lazy to tune down just for 5 minutes … it work . until now nothings better than tune down your guitar if you really want to.

If you play alone, it suck cause you hear your strings, latency etc…

But for covers I use it sometimes and no one notice it. I have done a whole pantera album with the virtual capo, meshuggah ….

Maybe one day technology will allow us to have something quicker. That’s not difficult to tune down hm.
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I agree. If you live in the low tone zone, then just tune your guitar that way. The pitch block is still pretty great. The only time I find it really struggles is if you put a phaser block in the path.
 
You guys did the same thing when I said that the noise gate had issues and was noisier than my Axe II in the same environment.

I ordered an Axe FX 3 Turbo over a year ago and had to send it back; it was SO noisy. All I heard from most of you folks was 'sure, it's not noisy here; it must be your environment.' Then Cliff updates the noise gate a few months back and bam, everything is perfect, sounds SO QUIET, MUCH QUITER THAN MY AXE II even some others noticed and spoke out.

If you don't agree and want to settle for a pitch block that isn't up to par with the rest of the unit, cool, but Cliff needs to hear the wobbles and the weakness from those that want it to be better than a $150.00 pedal. The video speaks for itself.

I am trying to help Cliff improve the weakest link in the chain here, maybe he will take another look at that block, if he does and fixes it then cool, if not maybe I will have to wait for Axe Fx 4 and finally have the best pitch out there.

To the rest of you that can't hear it, that is on you, just know not everyone can see the Matrix.
 
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